California Trivia & Tidbits - Page 9

Looking for California trivia? Try our list California little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Quarries in Rocklin (pop. 36,330) provided granite for the state Capitol in Sacramento and many San Francisco buildings and today supply stone for kitchen counters and monument signs.

first appeared: 9/19/2004

The state’s population is expected to top 55 million people by 2050, according to projections by the California Department of Finance. In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 33.8 million residents.

first appeared: 9/19/2004

A 9-year-old African bull elephant named Osh is one of the newest residents of the Oakland Zoo. Osh arrived in March, in excellent health, after a 54-hour journey by ferry, airplane and truck from his former home in England. Oakland Zoo is one of the few worldwide with the space, technology and experience to care for an African bull elephant.

first appeared: 9/12/2004

No part of the 700-foot-long Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento River in Redding touches water. Opened in July, the footbridge is supported by 4,342 feet of cable and features non-skid glass panels on its deck so that it casts as little shadow on the water as possible, all to protect salmon spawning grounds below.

first appeared: 9/5/2004

Born in Pomona in 1963, retired slugger Mark McGwire played for the U.S. Olympic baseball team in 1984 before turning pro and hitting 583 career home runs as a member of the Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals from 1987 to 2001. During the 1998 season, he hit 70 home runs, a major league record at the time.

first appeared: 8/29/2004

Established in 1968, Abalone Farm in Cayucos (pop. 2,943) is one of the nation’s oldest and largest producers of California red abalone. The farm harvests between 1.5 and 2 metric tons of the shellfish from its aquaculture facilities weekly, after growing them from the spawning stage to a market size of 3.5 to 4.5 inches—a process that takes up to five years.

first appeared: 8/22/2004

The state adopted the California quail as its official bird in 1931. The plump, blue-gray bird sports a distinctive black head plume and can be found along the Pacific Coast. It congregates in coveys of up to 60 birds in the fall, before separating into breeding pairs in the spring.

first appeared: 8/15/2004

The first star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 9, 1960, honoring actress Joanne Woodward. Administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Walk of Fame contains more than 2,000 bronze stars, which line parts of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The stars represent five categories: motion pictures, television, radio, recording and live theater.

first appeared: 8/8/2004

The Gallo of Sonoma Winery, based in Healdsburg (pop. 10,722), was founded by brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo in 1933. The family-owned winery now is run by Julio’s grandchildren: Matt Gallo oversees the grape growing process, while Gina Gallo concentrates on creating the wines.

first appeared: 8/1/2004

More than a thousand hummingbirds a day visit feeders at the Kern River Preserve near Weldon (pop. 2,387) between July and early September. Recognized as a “Globally Important Bird Area,” the preserve—a joint effort of Audubon-California and The Nature Conservancy—is visited by more than 330 species of birds, including at least six hummingbird species.

first appeared: 7/25/2004

The General Grant redwood tree that stands more than 265 feet high in Kings Canyon National Park near Sanger (pop. 18,931) was named the Nation’s Christmas Tree on April 28, 1926. It earned the title after a visiting child’s remark inspired Charles E. Lee of Sanger’s Chamber of Commerce to write to President Calvin Coolidge to suggest the honor. Reported to be 3,500 years old, the tree also is a national shrine, commemorating Americans who lost their lives in war.

first appeared: 7/18/2004

In the last decade, three National Teacher of the Year recipients were Californians: Sandra L. McBrayer of San Diego’s Homeless Outreach School in 1994; Marilyn Jachetti Whirry of Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach in 2000; and Chauncey Veatch of Coachella Valley High School in Thermal in 2002.

first appeared: 7/11/2004

When artist Hobart Brown made some artistic improvements to his son’s tricycle in 1969, his neighbors followed suit, challenging each other to build the best, or weirdest, human-powered sculpture. The challenge resulted in the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race between Arcata (pop. 16,651) and Ferndale (pop. 1,382), which takes place each Memorial Day weekend.

first appeared: 6/27/2004

The Southern sea otter population off the state’s coast was hunted almost to extinction in the 1700s and 1800s, and still numbers less than 3,000 animals. The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey (pop. 29,674) assists in rescuing stranded otters, tracks them through radio transmitters, and helps count the animals in spring and fall as part of its Sea Otter Research and Conservation program.

first appeared: 6/20/2004

Anacapa Island, located off the Pacific coastline southwest of Port Hueneme (pop. 21,845), is known for its displays of coreopsis, or tree sunflower, a plant that blooms with yellow daisy-like flowers in the spring. The island actually is comprised of three islands linked by submerged reefs. Its name comes from the Chumash Indian word “Eneepah,” meaning “island of deception or mirage.”

first appeared: 6/13/2004

Players on the giant, 16-foot-square interactive chessboard in Morro Bay (pop. 10,350) use redwood chess pieces that stand 2 to 3 feet tall and weigh about 18 pounds each. Morro Bay’s recreation department takes reservations for the chessboard’s use.

first appeared: 6/6/2004

Forming a circle 10 miles wide, the Sutter Buttes near Yuba City (pop. 36,758) are reported to be the world’s smallest mountain range. Formed from volcanic activity 1.5 million years ago, the range’s highest point is South Butte, at just over 2,100 feet high. Once known as Histum Yani, or Spirit Mountain, by the Maidu Indians, the buttes were renamed in 1949 after local pioneer and fort-builder John A. Sutter.

first appeared: 5/30/2004

Nicknamed “Joltin’ Joe” and “the Yankee Clipper,” baseball player Joseph Paul DiMaggio was born in 1914 in Martinez (pop. 35,866). He was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1939, 1941 and 1947, and set a record for hits in 56 consecutive games in 1941. DiMaggio was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955, four years after he retired from the New York Yankees.

first appeared: 5/23/2004

NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon began his racing career at age 5, driving quarter midget cars—small, open-wheeled racecars with low-horsepower motors—on a makeshift track in his hometown of Vallejo.

first appeared: 5/16/2004

The Santa Cruz Harbor Light, also known as the Walton Lighthouse, opened near Santa Cruz (pop. 54,593) in 2002, after the community raised funds for its construction. The lighthouse stands 42 feet tall, weighs 350,000 pounds, and features a green signal light that flashes every four seconds. Its name honors Derek Walton, merchant marine brother of Charles Walton, a major donor to the construction effort.

first appeared: 5/9/2004

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